I pray that by the time this article is published in the Catholic Weekly Independent Newspaper, Pope Francis should still be alive. It was reported by the Vatican News that Pope Francis is critically ill and he has been admitted into the hospital.  But news gathering in the waves is reporting that it appears the Pope will soon die.  I think the whole world is expecting the news of the Pope’s demise because of the critical condition he finds himself.  At a press conference in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, members of the Pope’s medical team say that he is not yet out of danger, and will be in hospital at least another week - but they note that he is joking as much as usual, and has even begun working again. Pope Francis is not “in danger of death”, but he’s also not fully “out of danger”, members of his medical team have said. Dr Alfieri emphasized that the Pope is not attached to a ventilator, although he is still struggling with his breathing and consequently keeping his physical movements limited.

Nevertheless, the physician said, the Pope is sitting upright in a chair, working, and joking as usual.  Alfieri said that when one of the doctors greeted the Pope by saying “Hello, Holy Father”, he replied with “Hello, Holy Son”. Asked by a journalist what their greatest fear is, the doctors noted that there is a risk that germs in the Pope’s respiratory tract might enter his bloodstream, causing sepsis. Dr Alfieri did say, however, that he was confident that Pope Francis would leave the hospital at some point and return to Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

At another forum, it was reported that The Holy Father's clinical condition is stable. The blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show a slight improvement, particularly in the inflammatory indices.  After breakfast, the Pope read some newspapers and then went about his work with his closest collaborators. Before lunch he received the Eucharist. In the afternoon, he received a visit from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with whom he spent 20 minutes in private.

Some miscreants want him to resign his appointment. But the question is ‘Why do you want him to resign at this moment’.  Let him focus on his treatment. Of course he is human just like all of us and will die one day, but right now it’s not the time to speak about that. We should be praying for his recovery. He is not on death bed. He is still responsive. He is the head of the Catholic Church, but he touched Protestants’ hearts, too. We are praying for him as well.

Pope Francis was incredibly inclusive and tolerant. Even when there were disagreements, but, it didn’t mean that we couldn’t still love each other. ️ If it is Pope Francis’ time for his great homecoming celebration, before he goes I just hope someone will tell him that his work was not for nothing and how many people’s lives he had touched for the best. Tell him how much he’s loved. I'm praying for him. He’s felt like a friend. Many people feel that way, too.

One of the greatest achievements of Pope Francis which I loved so much is the issue of “Dialogue and Synodality”. Perhaps more than anything else, Pope Francis has emphasized dialogue and Synodality as the modus vivendi of the Church. The Church is not just its Pastors, but the whole People of God. As such, Pastors need to listen to one another, to the laity, and to the broader world in which we live (see John 17:16; Gaudium et Spes 1). This is Synodality meaning walking together which is now the subject of the upcoming Synods of Bishops.

As with the rest of his Papacy, Pope Francis is implementing the teaching of the Second Vatican Council (see Lumen Gentium, chapters 2 and 3). Dialogue and listening feature prominently in Pope Francis’s first major teaching document, Evangelii Gaudium (the joy of the Gospel), which has served as a blueprint for his papacy. The reigning pre-conciliar theology saw the Church as a “Perfect Society,” entrusted with all saving truth. It was the Church’s duty to proclaim this truth without wavering or compromise, “in season or out of season” (2 Tim 4:2) to a sinful and ignorant world.

The Church was the teacher in the mode of a lecturer; it was everyone else’s job to listen and obey. Further, in this overly hierarchical view, the Church was virtually identified with Bishops and Priests.

Following the lead of Vatican II and Pope St. Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi (To Proclaim the Gospel), Pope Francis inverts this pyramidal structure by emphasizing the laity. Far from minimizing the proclamation of saving truth, this approach encourages it. The truth is the Person of Jesus Christ: “The truth of faith is not an abstract theory, but the reality of the living Christ” (General Audience, Oct 6, 2021; cf. Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est 1).

The reason God has gathered his Church in the first place is to proclaim the Good News of God’s Kingdom. This proclamation is the task of all the baptized, not just ordained priests. We laypeople are also priests (1 Peter 2:9; Lumen Gentium 9-10). We proclaim the truth of Christ, not with speeches and sermons but with the witness of our lives. As St. Paul VI said, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (Evangelii Nuntiandi 41).  A good teacher dialogues with their students. Dialogue includes both speaking and listening. As such, the teaching Church must also be a listening Church.

Internally, this means that Priests, Bishops, and even the Pope himself (the Bishop of Rome) need to listen to the Laity. They should not pretend that they have all the answers (see Gaudium et Spes 16; 33). We live in a constantly changing world. The hierarchy needs the expertise of professional laypeople, such as lawyers, doctors, teachers, theologians, bankers, musicians, architects, and so on. They should delegate responsibility and authority for governance wherever and whenever they judge it useful.

In his nine-year-in-the-making reform of the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has now allowed laypeople to head offices (Praedicate Evangelium 5). This listening, crucially, also means listening to criticism and complaints from laypeople, which Pope Francis has said he welcomes.

Synodality and dialogue are particularly important for the College of Bishops. Under the leadership of the Bishop of Rome, the Bishops are collectively responsible for overseeing the Catholic Church (Lumen Gentium 22). The Vatican does not have all the answers, nor does it know local situations. The role of the Roman curia is not to lord it over the Bishops of the world, or even to direct them, but to assist them. Bishops’ Conferences play an important role. This is why, for example, Pope Francis empowered them to approve liturgical translations on their own, without needing Vatican approval (Magnum Principium). Synods are a particular manifestation of Synodality. These are gatherings of Bishops, Priests, and/or Laity, at which everyone listens to “what the Spirit says to the Churches” (Revelation 3:22).

Synods only make sense if one does not assume everyone already has all the solutions to every problem and question. Synods are a chance for Bishops from different regions, with different experiences and charisma, to listen to one another as well as the laity. The goal is for more informed and better decision making. God’s Holy Spirit has been powered out over all the faithful, distributing different gifts to different members for the up-building of the one Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12).

Let us all pray for the quick recovery of Pope Francis. All hands must be on deck to revive the drooping spirit of the Pope be you a Catholic, Christian, Muslim, and all other believers and faithful of God.

God Bless the Pope!!! God Bless Nigeria!!!